About Me

I'm Jason and I was born and raised in Manila. I started writing professionally at age 19, when my byline first appeared in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. I then became one of its student correspondents, and my assignments included being a gasoline boy and a T.G.I. Friday's waiter for a day.
At present, I'm an Intranet content manager and a contributing lifestyle journalist.
My work has also appeared in SilkWinds (Singapore), Aspire (Hong Kong), and www.interaksyon.com.
I mainly blog about food, movies, and occasionally, current events.

For example: did you know that a round-trip flight from Manila to my father's hometown in Batanes is 75 percent more expensive than a trip to Hong Kong? (I know there are ROI factors to consider but still; I find it frustrating for the domestic tourist.)

And there are the problems with cab drivers, public transportation and pollution—those that make a mark on a tourist's first impression of the Philippines once they step outside our airports—and many others that I'd rather not name because we all know what we need to fix. I guess, my point is, for the Philippines, it's more than just a branding issue. Of course, a brand helps: let's bring on the adjectives—wow, amazing and kay ganda. I just don't get why people are so... angry over this new DOT campaign.

I don't even know what Indonesia's and Vietnam's advertising slogans are but they are ahead of the Philippines in 2009 arrivals, with Cambodia, (My goodness, Cambodia!!! They only have the Angkor Wat! We have over 7,000 islands!!!)whose advertisements I haven't seen either, catching up way too closely. Malaysia is ahead of the pack with what I personally find as the most obnoxious slogan of all—Truly Asia. (What makes an Asian country truly... um, Asian? It reeks of arrogance; I'm surprised Filipinos, who rile over the slightest of things, haven't filed a complaint at The Hague: "Sinong tinatawag nilang pekeng Asian?!")

So you really can't tell with these slogans; who knows? There is more to tourism than spurning catchy sound bites for moneyed travelers.

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Yup, good point. I think the early 90s' Fiesta Islands campaign was able to strike that chord in its ads. Wow Philippines was witty but you really can't tell what exactly is "more than the usual." Easy to make a joke out of, too.

Cambodia really shocked me. I wonder though if it's because it's a landlocked country.